The genre of the cop film seems to have become a dumping ground for film critics, and while I do acknowledge the fact that any movie dealing with the Boys in Blue released these days do follow the same basic formula, my belief is that whether or not the film is good lies in the execution of the story.  I was one of the few people on the planet who actually liked the recent Al Pacino-Robert De Niro cop thriller Righteous Kill, and I think the same can be said for the latest cop drama Pride & Glory.  Yes, we have seen this story of cop corruption and decaying family bonds before, but Pride & Glory tells this story so well and with such strong acting, it’s bound to satisfy any fan of the genre.  However, those looking for a more violent and blood-spattered crime drama may want to look someplace else, because at its heart, Pride & Glory is a tale of brotherhood, as it poses the question: what’s more important — family harmony or upholding the law, even if it means disrupting that harmony?

Many of the people who see this film are bound to complain that you’re able to map out the entire plot and events of the film within the first ten minutes, and in a sense they’d be correct.  Just like Righteous Kill back in September, this is the type of film where the enjoyment is in the ride; it doesn’t matter what is done, but how it’s done.  By this point, we can accurately guess what Point A and Point B will turn out to be, but we care about how we get from Point A to Point B.  Most of the time, a lot of shooting and dead bodies are involved in the narrative flow of cop thrillers, but Pride & Glory surprisingly uses these elements only sparingly, instead deciding to focus more on the characters, how they cope with the idea of corruption in their ranks, and the reasons that make people want to become police officers.  that’s where the film gets its title Pride & Glory.

Our story begins with a drug bust gone wrong, where four cops are killed.  Each one of these cops served under the command of Francis Tierney Jr. (Noah Emmerich).  Francis is brother to fellow cop Ray (Edward Norton) and he gets his “Jr.” title from Francis Tierney Sr. (Jon Voight).  Senior confronts Ray and demands that he join the task force assigned to investigate the crime, but Ray takes the job rather begrudgingly because of an experience in the past which caused Ray’s faith in the NYPD to diminish considerably.  Like all other movie cops pulled back into the game, Ray is in the process of a divorce from his wife, who accuses him of devoting himself to his duties as a cop more than he has devoted himself to her.  But, of course, Ray must put aside his personal problems and focus his attention on capturing the cop killer.

The investigation, though, soon turns up a shocking connection to Ray’s brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell, in another fine performance this year), who’s also a cop.  And when I use the term ‘shocking connection’, obviously I mean that it’s shocking only to Ray; knowing that the film involves police corruption, we as the audience know that it’s inevitable at least one of the main characters is involved in the scandal.  Further inquiry uncovers an even bigger tide of corruption among Jimmy and the officers he rides with.  Francis Sr. is obviously upset at the news, but not as much as Francis Jr., who soon starts to embark on a witch hunt as he tries to weed out any other cops who’ve been corrupted along with Jimmy.  However, Jimmy isn’t about to go down without a fight, as he even goes so far as to threaten a baby with a hot steam iron.  And so begins the tangled web of family values and disillusioned beliefs of cops who’ve crossed the line, thinking that it’s a necessary evil in order to beat crime on the streets.

Besides the acting, one of the main strengths of “Pride & Glory” is its realism.  The film creates a world of crooked cops and conflicted loyalties between family and the law so lucid and believable, it seems to have been ripped right from the streets and plastered onto the screen.  The characters do have the expected cliches and such encoded into their fictional DNA, but what really makes us identify with them is how each actor breathes life into them.  As expected, both Edward Norton and Jon Voight turn in strong work, with Norton especially making up for his summer disaster The Incredible Hulk.  Colin Farrell, who back in February starred in my second-favorite movie so far this year, In Bruges, turns in yet another tremendous performance as he captures the two-faced nature of Jimmy perfectly.  In fact, by the end of the film, Farrell has done such a good job of portraying not only Jimmy’s corrupt side, but his side that’s devoted to his family as well, that we actually feel sorry about how he ends up.  I personally hope that Colin Farrell gets more good roles in the future, because he really is starting to blossom as an actor.

But back to the film’s reality, there’s even a disclaimer right before the credits that states that “all events and characters portrayed in this film are purely fictitious, and any similarities are strictly coincidental.”  Curious that a film of this genre would have something like that, although it is a known fact that the police force has seen its fair share of dirty dealing in the past.  Plus, I think because of the grimness of some of the events in the film, such as Jimmy threatening the baby, will be so upsetting to some viewers, that they will need the reassurance.  But if a film like this is able to get its audience to respond on that emotional level, then it must be doing its job pretty effectively.  And the baby scene isn’t the only one we respond to.

Another reality the film captures is that people who live in this area of New York do talk with obscenities being every other word in their conversations.

While certainly not better than the recent crime classic The Departed, Pride & Glory is still a good but not great cop drama that should please fans of the genre.  For anyone else, though, a DVD rental should suffice.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆